Wykeham 99 Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Hello All - Happy New Year Having now run in the engine on my TR3A and therefore going somewhat quicker than I was, I seem to be getting scuttle shake at about 70mph. All the wire wheels have been balanced (properly I think!) so I am at a bit of a loss to reduce the vibration. Is this part of the joy of sidescreen TR motoring or should I be investigating possible sources of the problem? Any advice/suggestions would be gratefully received! Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sidescreen Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I had once simular problems, it disappeared after balancing (twice) the wires using a special adapter ring. Raymond Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Menno van Rij Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Who balanced the wheels of your car, Raymond? I'm always interested to know. Mine were done at Imparts, but it's always good to know more addresses! btw, gelukkig nieuwjaar! Menno Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sidescreen Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Happy New Year ! Menno, my wheels were balanced at http://www.garageclassicservice.nl/ in Vlaardingen, very surprising with really good results and no scuttle shake anymore ! BTW - How was your holiday trip ? Raymond Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mychael Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 A little bit lateral thinking for scuttle shake but I made the chance discovery that if I had the smallest/lighest battery fitted as opposed to the largest/heaviest that scuttle shake (with no other modifications or alterations)was reduced. Not eliminated but certainly reduced. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 It is possible to have wheels/tyres which are perfectly balanced but are not true in one of two ways, and the best way to check is to lift each wheel off the ground about an inch, lie on the ground and observe this gap as you spin the wheel. 1 - the distance between the tread and the ground may change as the tyre is rotated - no tyre is perfect, so a small variation is acceptable. 2 - the tread pattern may wander from left to right as the tyre is rotated - no tyre is perfect, so a small variation is acceptable. Such anomalies can lead to scuttle shake, and the TR2/3/3A is somewhat prone to scuttle shake, not having the bracing provided between chassis and scuttle seen with the TR4 onwards. If there is a lot of variation, then select the best pair of balanced wheels and put them on the front - solid axle TRs can accommodate the rougher stuff at the rear (don't tell Julian Clary!). Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Elliott Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 Make sure your tyres are balanced on a machine which uses an adapter which accepts the bolt circle for your TR wheels and which is bolted with nuts as it is on your TR. If the tyre shop does it the modern way just by chucking the wheel onto a cone and ramming home the huge nut onto the center cone, your wheels and tyres will not be centered. Hence they will be out of round and not balanced correctly. I have never experienced skuttle shake because of tyres being out of round or out of balance because I have found which trye shops have the right adapters and the knowledge to do it correctly as per my requirements. Also, FWIW, I have always used the heaviest battery that fits and it never caused any skuttle shake. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Following on from Ian's points, the slightest flat spotting of a tyre can and will cause scuttle shake - and it's all too easy for a tyre to go 'out of round' if it sits unused for the winter months. Ian's suggestions would highlight such a problem. One way of alleviating a minor distortion is to remove the wheel, pump up the tyre to 45lbs, and then leave it in the sun on a hot day, lying flat on the deck. If that doesn't work, scrap the tyre. Cheers, Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Vincent Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 One way of alleviating a minor distortion is to remove the wheel, pump up the tyre to 45lbs, and then leave it in the sun on a hot day, lying flat on the deck. So that's the car out of commission until next July or August then - if we are lucky! Rgds Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Elliott Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 As I wrote above, I have never experienced skuttle shake in my 1958 TR3A. I'm on my 3rd set of radial tires in 105,000 miles (half of the tread depth is still there on my 3rd set - Vredesteins) and I leave my TR parked with full weight in one spot all winter long on the concrete floor of my heated (15 to 18 deg. C) garage with the tires at 30 psi and I don't move it during the winter from November till April except when I lift it for a week or so to change the oil etc. In the spring, I just back it out and drive it with no special pre-heating etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LGFromage Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 As I wrote above, I have never experienced skuttle shake in my 1958 TR3A. I'm on my 3rd set of radial tires in 105,000 miles (half of the tread depth is still there on my 3rd set - Vredesteins) and I leave my TR parked with full weight in one spot all winter long on the concrete floor of my heated (15 to 18 deg. C) garage with the tires at 30 psi and I don't move it during the winter from November till April except when I lift it for a week or so to change the oil etc. In the spring, I just back it out and drive it with no special pre-heating etc. Lucky Don. When I lived in Montreal my TR3A suffered scuttle shake but it was more due to rough roads (Decarie Blvd was beig built at the time) rather than unbalanced wheels. The car had disc, as opposed to wire, wheels which are far easier to balance using conventional equipment. After the 3A I bought a 4A (at Ninth Avenue Motors Lachine) which I still have. It has wire wheels and they have always been difficult to balance. I agree with the comments from Ianc and Alec but prefer to use 90 to 100psi during winter storage to keep the tyre round and avoid flat spots. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
svs451 Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Make sure you check the rear gearbox mount, mine was torn and only half of it was attached, the shakes were really bad. New mount cured... If its more than 10 years old best to replace anyway as it can allows the prop to vibrate. Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dick Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 You could also look at your body mounting bolts and check for tightness.....I had shuttle shake and went through all of the usual things...wheel balancing etc but to no avail. I found that the bolts on the diagonal sections that brace the turrets were quite loose. After tightening I then slackened all of the steering box / column bolts and brackets to let the column and box find a neutral non stressed position...I was surprised to find how much the steering box moved! The result was and still is 15 years on, absolutely no shake at any speed. I had fitted all new body mounts during a 'body off' re-build and suspect that after a period of time and some enthusiastic driving the rubber mounts must have settled. Dick. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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